


Peaches.

by lol-phan-af (lol_phan_af)



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: F/F, M/M, Modern AU, Multi, drunk alex, google translate french oops, nonbinary!lafayette, sober everyone else, verbal attack on house hunters, you cannot pry maria reynolds from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-23 10:53:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6114276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lol_phan_af/pseuds/lol-phan-af
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Schuyler sisters throw a party to celebrate Peggy's 21st birthday, it starts something that nobody really predicted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It's early summer when Alexander first meets the Schuyler sisters. The blistering heat has already kicked in and he's convinced he's more sweat than human. They don't help this problem.

They knock on the door to his and Hercules' apartment on a humid Saturday afternoon. The day had been silent until then. He heaves himself off of the couch, setting his laptop down on the coffee table, and trudges over to open the door. The triangle formation in which they stand looks like an intimidation tactic that would commonly be used in a modern day militia. Alex thinks it works as intended.

"Is Hercules Mulligan here?" The tallest one, Angelica, asks. She's wearing a white shirt with words on the front printed so small that Alex can't even read them. Her eyebrows are raised in an almost condescending way, emphasizing the matching look in her eyes. Alex just nods. He moves to let them in, mumbles the direction of where Hercules' studio is, and closes the door behind them. The other two sisters just glance at him as they walk past.

"The Schuyler's!" Hercules exclaims, hugging all of three of them at once. Six arms trying to hug one person at the same time is a a strange sight for Alex.

"Herc, we're here for ball gowns. Is that something you'd be willing to do?" Angelica's eyebrows are doing the thing again, but this time she's actually smiling. Hercules returns the smile.

"I'm sure I can come up with something," Hercules says, leading the three sisters to his studio.

They stay in the studio for a long time. Only once does anyone step out of the room at the end of the hall, and it's the middle sister, who introduces herself as Eliza. She takes a bottle of water from their fridge and they talk briefly of the article that Alex is working on for one of his many blogs. Eliza looks interested but Alexander can't tell if she actually is or if she is faking it to make him feel like she is.

Angelica emerges from the hall, telling Eliza it's her turn to be measured. Eliza waves goodbye to Alex, and follows her sister. It's not until the sun has gone down that he hears the three of them walking down the hall to leave. Each of them say goodbye to Alex, already having said goodbye to Hercules, and walk out of the apartment.

Hercules comes out of his studio a few minutes later, laughing at a joke Alexander never heard. Alex stays desolate on the couch, staring straight ahead at the small TV on a makeshift stand of a dresser they found on the street. Hercules had been confused with dresser at first, both of them making more than enough money to buy a real TV stand, but Alexander had insisted. ( _'It builds character, Hercules.'_ )

"So I see you've met the Schulyer sisters," the taller man laughs. He sits on the far side of the couch, legs resting in Alex's lap. Alex doesn't even move his arms out from under them.

"How long have you known them?" he asks slowly, like he's afraid to find out the actual answer.

"About a year," Hercules responds, crossing his arms over his chest.

"A year? Herc, that's so long. That's _so long_. A year that I've spent not knowing of three goddesses walking God's green earth. It's blasphemy." Hercules laughs at that, head thrown back, laughter echoing off of the walls. Alex is staring at his hands, still under Hercules' legs, confused.

"You know what? Next time they're here, you can come with us to the studio. In fact, you have to. They're throwing a colonial ball for Peggy's birthday and we're both invited. And, as far as I'm concerned, you don't have a suit."

Alexander groaned. He pulls his arms out from under Herc's legs, promptly dragging his sweaty palms down his face. "Colonial suits? You mean like the outfits where the socks go up to your knees with the stupid hats?"

"Hats aren't formal attire."

"But knee socks that soar higher than my dreams are?"

Angelica, Peggy, and Eliza don't come back for a while, but when they do, Alex is even sweatier than before. He formally greets them now, only stuttering on a few words. They seem amused with him, like they're deconstructing every piece of his past with their eyes and finding out more than Alex ever did. He shifts uncomfortably on his feet.

"I've heard of you before," Peggy states.

"I run a blog, called 'A Ham's A Plus Plans To Win Over The Government', and then another one called 'Fuck You Thomas Jefferson Etc.'. I was also accredited for being the person to try and start the most fights in the Denny's parking lot, if that's what you were looking for," he explains, laughing nervously, scratching at the back of his head absentmindedly. Eliza and Angelica laugh at him, but Alex knows they mean no harm.

"Do people ever complain about the legnth of the titles?" Eliza asks, while Hercules rolls over the mannequins with the three ball gowns on them behind the sisters.

"Frequently," Alex responds. His eyes widen at the three dresses placed behind them. They turn to follow his gaze, and their mouths open in shock.

"Hercules, they're beautiful! Oh my god, I love them!" Peggy squeals as she goes over and touches her dress. She runs her hands along the silky yellow fabric. She stares at the dress with wide eyes, drinking in the sight of it.

"These really are beautiful, Mulligan," Eliza remarks, staring at the designs. Angelica whispers something in agreement, but it gets lost in the moment.

Hercules and Alex step out of the room so that Peggy, Eliza, and Angelica can try on their dresses in peace. Hercules looks to Alex.

"Y'know, I think they like you," He whispers in case they can hear him. Alex has to take a moment to process what he says.

"It's like they're dissecting me with their eyes, Hercules. Nobody looks at you like that if they like you."

"They do!" Alex rolls his eyes.

Angelica and Eliza come out first, twirling. Alex compliments them thoroughly. They thank him, accepting the shower of flattering remarks willingly. Hercules looks for any flaws in any aspect of the dresses, chastising himself for every one snag he finds. Angelica stops him mid-self criticism. Her and Eliza stand on either side of the hallway. Angelica curls her hand into a fist as an imaginary microphone, Eliza following suit.

"And now," Eliza begins.

"Miss Margarita Schuyler!"

Peggy struts down the hallway, high heels clacking against the floor. She spins once she reaches the end of it, earning her a round of applause from the four other people in the room. Her beaming smile gains the power of the sun as she curtsies and bows to each of them. Hercules continues the critique of his own work, taking mental note of everything wrong.

"Mulligan, stop it. You'll end up ruining the dresses if you change them too much." Alex scolds.

"You're one to talk Mr. 'If I stop writing for one second because of your nonsense, Mulligan, you will never make another piece of clothing in this city again because you will be dead'. You'd been working on that article for months."

"I said that one time!"

"It was four times, and besides, I can't let my three favorite people go to a ball with uneven hems," the latter says, viewing the bottom of Eliza's skirt. Hamilton feigned sorrow at being denounced as Hercules' favorite.

The eve of September 24th is one to remember. Alex does not write anything once. He accidentally woke up late that morning, and by the time he was fully awake, Hercules was forcing him into the final fitting of his suit. Despite his skill, his roommate had intentionally picked today to make Alex's breeches two inches too tight around his waist and fixes them agonizingly slowly, much to Alex's dismay.

The party is in full swing by the time they arrive. Many people are wearing hats, and Alex has never been more thankful to be given a piece of false information. One person is just in a straight up pirate costume, which Alex takes a picture of to look at whenever he needed to.

Peggy spots them almost immediately, running over in her yellow dress, pausing to pose before pulling them both into her arms. Hercules hands her her present, which she gracefully accepts. She thanks Hercules again for her dress and for the present before being swept away by other partygoers.

"Does Peggy really know this many people?" Alex asks, gesturing to the tons of people surrounding them. Hercules just shrugs as a boy runs into him.

"I think some of them are friends of Angelica and Eliza."

The two of them just dance for a while, a task soon to be proved to exhausting. The summer heat hasn't left yet, and Alex is slipping on the sweat in his shoes.

"I need to get a drink, I'll be back," Alex tells him, shuffling in between throngs of people. The taller man nods him off, too focused on trying to catch his breath to really pay attention.

* * *

 

Hercules wanders around the ballroom, looking for anyone that he might know. He runs into Eliza, who seems to be busy talking to a girl who looks like Peggy, but isn't. He also sees Angelica, who is yelling at two boys who are mysteriously drenched in water. He doesn't notice when he runs into someone, despite them being of equal height. They're wearing pretty much the same thing Hercules is, and he wouldn't have even noticed a difference, if everything they had on wasn't bright magenta save their boots, waistcoat, and shirt. Their hair branches out in curls that shine under the ballroom's chandeliers.

"Pardon me," they shout over the music, looking at Hercules.

"Oh no, it's fine. It's honestly the most interesting thing to happen to me tonight so far."

"Really? I just passed two kids having a rap battle that ended with one of them crying." Their French accent is strong as they speak. Hercules laughs, filling up the small space between them. Lafayette feels like they are being bathed in liquid warmth from the sound of it. They watch the way his lips stretch out across his teeth and resists the urge to bite their lip in fear of ruining their lipstick.

"I'm Hercules Mulligan," he says, holding out his hand for them to shake.

" _Bonjour_. I'm Marie-Joesph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette. I am mostly called Laf, though," they respond, taking Hercules' much bigger hand in theirs and shaking it. They're smiling slyly as they watch Hercules try to remember all of their names.

"I wasn't expecting that," he whispers, and Lafayette is the one who laughs.

The conversation between them moves fluidly from one subject to another, and they don't even realize how much time has passed until Angelica is standing on a chair and announcing that it's time for cake.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Alex is tipsy on spiked punch. It burns as he drinks it but it tastes like apple pie and Alex likes apple pie so who the fuck cares. He steps outside with another glass of the punch and find a man there, illuminated by the lights from the inside, sitting on a bench. His curly hair framed his face. He is wearing seafoam green similar to the color of Eliza's dress, but brighter.

"Hey man, have you had this punch?If not I recommend you fucking get some because this shit is delicious," the words all slur, so it took about ten seconds longer than normal to say what he wanted to. He doesn't notice.

The man just stares at him, eyes wide, eybrows furrowed together just enough for Alex to notice it beyond the drunk haze. Alex takes the silence to finish the rest of his cup and sets it carefully on the ground. He sits down on the bench next to the man, their eyes locking.

"Dude, you're fucking covered in freckles," is the first thing out of Alexander's mouth. He holds the stranger's face close to his, trying to work out the philosophy of the galaxy spread across this man's face. The man starts blushing. He pulls his face away from Alex's hands, blush still high on his cheeks. The lights dim inside the ballroom, but neither of them notice.

"I'm John. John Laurens."

"Alexander Hamlinton. Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton, sorry. You are like made of freckles, John."

"I've been told. Let's get you inside, come on." John grabs him by the wrist, but Alex trips and collides with John's back.

"You smell like peaches," he breathes out.

John rolls his eyes. He manages to get Alexander into the ballroom as soon as everyone starts singing. Alex tries to sing along, but some how forgets the words halfway through. He waits until Peggy has blown out her candles and until everyone has gotten done clapping to look for Lafayette. When he finally does, he sees them talking to a man about their height but much more muscular. The man sees them before Lafayette does, excusing himself reluctantly from Lafayette's presence. He takes Hamilton from him, thanking him for returning him safely.

"You say it as if I returned a lost puppy," John remarks.

"Yeah, pretty much," Hercules responds. Alex mumbles something about how he is a fully grown adult who can handle himself as he slips and falls on the floor. Hercules picks him up after he's been laying on the floor long enough to for him to try and cuddle with it.

"John! _Mon cher!_ " Lafayette calls, hopping over to where the three of them stand. John sighs, leaning on Laf's shoulder. Lafayette wraps his hand around his shoulders, reaching up to stroke his hair. John can't help but notice how Hercules' positivity drains by a fraction in his eyes.

"Can we go home?" John asks, still on Lafayette's shoulder.

"Of course. _Bonne nuit, mon ami,_ " the latter waves to Hercules, who smiles and waves back. Alex slips off of his shoulder, almost falling to the floor before Hercules catches him. Hercules watches them leave, sighing as the two turn down the hallway disappearing out of sight. He picks up Alexander in one swift movement, muttering about the mess of people he chooses as friends.


	2. Chapter 2

Lafayette was staring at the ceiling the next morning, still mostly asleep. Their whole body aches from dancing. They were still wearing their suit, clothes clinging uncomfortably to their body. John was next to them, under the covers, grumbling about how he shouldn't be awake right now but can't fall asleep again.

"How was your night?" Lafayette asks. John thrashes around violently until he finally finds the top of the blanket, pushing it halfway down his body. The seafoam green suit on full display. He doesn't seem to be effected by it.

"So there was this guy, right? Cute as _hell_. He grabs my face and starts talking about my freckles. I mean, he was drunk, but y'know drunk actions are sober secrets or whatever the fuck. You saw him when that guy you were talking to came and got him."

"Alexander Hamilton? Notorious Denny's parking lot fighter Alexander Hamilton?"

John was silent for a moment. "So, how was your night?"

Lafayette laughs for a second before gasping. "The guy I was talking to. _Mon dieu_ , John, he's amazing. He's a freelance fashion designer and he made the suit that he was wearing. He told me he'd make me whatever I wanted and that _all I had to do was ask._ I think I'm in love."

"Oh god," John says, combing his hair with this fingers.

* * *

 

Alex wakes up on the floor of his and Hercules' apartment. His head is pounding. The light is too bright and it stings his eyes. He feels like he's going to vomit. He gets up anyways, stumbling to the bathroom to get a shower.

When he steps out, he feels slightly less disgusting, but disgusting nonetheless. The cool air in the apartment sends chills down his spine. Hercules is in the living room by then, watching _How It's Made_ on TV. Alex doesn't know what they're making but they're shredding plastic crates and Hercules seems interested enough.  
  
"I'm dying, Hercules," He says, sitting carefully down on the couch and curling into a ball. "Why didn't you put me in my bed?" Alex asks after his back cracks when he sits down.

"I did. You got up, told me that I can't control you, walked out here, fell face down on the couch and passed the fuck out. Do you not remember anything from last night?"

"I remember some apple pie drink, and a pretty boy. That's it. Put me out of my misery, Herc." Hamilton crawled into Hercules' lap. Hercules chuckled, burying his hands in Alex's hair, causing Alex to sigh happily.

"We could go to that diner down the street. The carbs would help." Alex nods into other man's knee, sitting up.

It takes them over a half an hour to get there, Alex taking an incredibly slow time to get dressed because he tried to do it with his eyes closed, the light burning. The pain only gets worse when they get in the diner, the flourescent lights burning into Alexander's retinas. Hercules almost laughs at who he sees.

There, in all of their glory, are the three Schuyler sisters. Peggy is face down on the table with Angelica, who looks concerned, rubbing her shoulders. Eliza is looking downward, rubbing the temples of her forehead, elbows propped up on the table.

"Take a seat, boys," Angelica tells them. Eliza and Peggy look up to see them, smiling softly before going back to the positions they held before. Alex plops down in the empty cushioned chair on other side of the table. Hercules takes a chair from the abandoned table next to theirs, pushing Alex aside slightly to make room for himself.

"I see the apple pie venom made its way into your innocent souls," Alex observes. Peggy and Eliza groan, confirming Alex's suspicion. He tries to bury himself further in his hoodie, but has nowhere else to go. Angelica opens her mouth to speak, but shuts it due to loss of words.

A waitress comes over and takes their drink order. She talks softer when asking Peggy, Eliza, and Alex, understanding how they feel. They thank her as she walks away.

"So how was your party, Peggy?" Hercules asks. She gives him a thumbs up, but doesn't move other than that. Hercules touches her arm briefly in recognition.

"You guys left really early," Angelica remarks.

"I would've stayed if Alex hadn't gotten drunk off his ass. I had to take him home because, as his roommate, I'm basically his primary caretaker."

Angelica nods like she understands. "In the short time you were there, how was it?"

"Great, actually. I met this person, they had like twenty names. One of them was Laf, I think. I don't know though there was another guy that came over and they seemed close, so, it might not've been what I thought it was," Hercules tells them.

"Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette? You met Laf?" Peggy lifts her head up off of the table, and Eliza peers at him with her mouth dropped open. Hercules smiles and nods.

"And you're opinions on them?. Eliza whispers, trying not to make loud noises to make her headache worse.

"I have never met anyone more majestic in my life. It's like their beauty radiates off of them."

"Right?" The three sisters say at once. They all wince at the sudden volume.

The woman comes out with their drinks moments later, placing each glass on the table in front of them. She asks them what they want to eat, face showing her horror at the sheer amount of grease contained in their orders. She tacks the paper with their order on it to the order rack and retreats back into the kitchen.

"How about you three? Any of you have any crushes from last night?" Hercules asks. Angelica and Peggy glance to Eliza, who blushes and takes a long sip from her straw.

"My sister here is blushing over a certain Miss Maria Reynolds that we found kissing Eliza goodbye at five o'clock this morning," Angelica explains, placing her finger over the top her straw, bringing the bottom of it to her lips, and drinking the small amount of liquid in it. Hercules wiggles his eyebrows, smile cracking over his face. Eliza blushes even darker, slapping Angelica on the arm. Angelica elbows her back lightly.

"Did you meet anyone last night, Alex?" Eliza asks, trying to direct the focus away from her.

"He met the guy Laf was with, then talked the whole walk home about how cute he was. It was a mess." Herc explains for him.

"In my defense, he was very cute," Alex adds, looking up at all of them.

"Are you talking about John Laurens?" Peggy asks. Alex pauses for a second, trying to recall the memories, and nods. Angelica pulls out her phone, adding two reminders onto a pink list. She smirks at the screen before pocketing her phone. Alex and Hercules don't ask.

The three suffering all put their heads down on the table, sighing at the touch of the cool metal. Angelica and Hercules just sit there together, not saying anything as to disrupt them. She takes a selfie at one point, and Hercules barely registers it in time to smile. Their food comes later, and Eliza, Alex, and Pegy's heads all fly up as soon as they smell it.

They all eat relatively quickly, never pausing to talk. After the constant noise of the party last night, they all take the silence gratefully. They pay for their respective checks and say goodbye to each other, hugging and laughing. Angelica promises to talk to Laf, but doesn't promise Alex that she would anything to John. Alex talks for a full minute about how Angelica shouldn't be allowed to play god like and keep his destiny from him before Hercules drags him in the opposite direction to their apartment. Once they're home, Alex goes on to talk even more about what else Angelica could be hiding from them. Such as the fact that she could supposedly be a lizard. #lizardtruth.

Alex's phone buzzes when he's halfway through explaining that Angelica's mannerisms could be lizard-like if you looked hard enough and based it on lies and no factual evidence.

 **@tjeffs** : _tfw theres a "lit" party but how lit could it be if I wasn't invited #tf_

"Oh my God," Alex gasps. His hands are already flying across his keyboard until they halt to a stop when he sees another reply.

 **@jhnlrns** : _@tjeffs the only way a party you'd go to ever was lit is if someone did us a favor and decided to light you on fire_

It's him. Alex retweets and favorites the tweet, then replies to Jefferson, telling him that the Schuyler sisters can handle an indirect by a macaroni and cheese fucker that doesn't know what class is enough to be invited to a bush party let alone a ball. He sends a few more tweets to him, all just about to exceed character limit. This of course sparks a chain of favorites and retweets, along with some people shooting their own insults back at Thomas, so Alex thinks he's done well enough. He turns his phone off and retreats to his bedroom, his head still pounding in his skull. Hercules watches him walk away, telling him goodnight before going back to his bedroom too.

* * *

 

John just roasted Thomas Jefferson with one tweet, and here @aham is typing out full novels to get one point across. He's fine with that really. What he's not fine with is the fact that @aham is almost definitely the guy from last night. His icon is just a black box and all of his pictures are those of rallies and paragraphs long rants that were too long to tweet, so John really has no proof. He decides that it might not be him and leave goes on instagram to escape.

The first thing he sees is a picture posted by @angie_schuy. The caption reads "when you're the only two people at the table without a hangover..." and the picture is of her and the other guy from last night smiling at the camera, and then three people face down on the table. @peggy_schuy, @eliza_schuy, @hercmull, and @adotham are all tagged. John doesn't deserve this. He goes on adotham, but there are no pictures on it. His icon again is just a black box and his bio is just "made by Hercules Mulligan. twitter @aham."

Lafayette comes out of their kitchen with a granola bar in their mouth. They throw one to John, who could have caught it, but he's too caught up in try to find Alexander. The granola bar smacks into his forehead, landing in his lap. He barely reacts to it, but it shakes him out of his shock. He silently shows Lafayette the instagram picture.

"You found them!" The granola bar falls out of their mouth and onto the floor, but there are more pressing matters at hand. They take John's phone out of his hands, going to Hercules' account and scrolling through all of the photos. Some are of Alex, which John appreciates, but most aren't. Most of the posts are various items of clothing he's made, which Lafayette is positively swooning over. John takes his phone back, still scouring Hercules' account for pictures of Alex that he can cry over because his life sucks. Lafayette took their own phone out, typing out a message to Angelica.

 **laf** : _you know Hercules?!?!?!_

 **angie** : _I assumed you knew that_

 **angie** : _The ball was invite only how did you think he got in_

 **laf** : _IVE HAD OTHER THINGS TO FRET ABOUT_

 **laf** : _LIKE THE FACT THAT YOU NEVER INTRODUCED ME TO HIM_

 **laf** : _I COULD BE MARRIED BY NOW ANGELICA_

 **angie** : _YOU ARE 22_

 **laf** : _/YOUR POINT/_

* * *

 

Hercules is back in the living room with Alex, who has successfully slept off his hangover. Alex is writing something, as per usual. He types fast enough that his fingers blur into one fast moving illusion. Hercules can vaguely see that whatever he is typing is rapidly approaching ten thousand words, and he prays for whoever is going to decide to take the journey and read it through.

"What's that for?" Hercules asks, catching the name Thomas Jefferson.

"It's for the Fuck Thomas Jefferson Etc. blog."

"Right, the FTJE," Hercules says. His phone buzzes.

 **Unknown Number** : _Hercules? it's laf from last night idk if you remember me tho_

 **Unknown Number** : _Angelica gave me your number btw_

"Oh my god, Alex?" Alexander makes a noise to let Hercules know he's listening. "Lafayette just texted me? Holy shit?" Alex almost throws his laptop off of him before climbing across the couch. His and Hercules' heads knock together but they barely notice at this point.

"You have to say something back!" Alex shakes Hercules' shoulders.

 **hErCuLeS** : _you can't forget someone who wears magenta so well_

 **laf** : _luckily_

Alex scoffs at the blatant flirtation. He thinks about John for a second, but shakes the thought from his head. He has at least two thousand more words to write before he can post this, so he goes back to his laptop. Hercules laughs occasionally, but Alexander hardly notices, too engrossed in finding the perfect insults for Jefferson.

When Alex actually posts it, it's four in the morning. Hercules had long since gone to bed, turning off the lights because he knows Alex wouldn't notice either way. He turns his laptop off, stumbling back into his bed for the second time that day.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #lizardtruth


	3. Chapter 3

September leaves just as soon as it came, and soon October is here, bringing the anticipation of Halloween with it. Hercules was laying in his bedroom, too lazy to get to get out of bed just yet. Alex is out, already buying decorations. Hercules takes a good look at his room, this being one of the last times before Alex gets his Halloween loving hands on it. He's scrolling through his phone when it starts ringing. It's Lafayette.  
  
"Hercules, _bonjour!_ I need your help," is the first thing they say.

"With what?"

"Meet me at Brew Ha Ha?" Hercules feels his heart beating faster. This would be the first time he's seen Laf in person since meeting them.

"Y-Yeah, sure." Lafayette hangs up. Hercules sends a text to Alex, telling him where he's going so he doesn't worry if he's not home when he gets back before running to get dressed.  
  
Hercules all but sprints to the coffee shop. By the time he gets there, his legs ache and his lungs are burning. He has to spend two minutes standing outside just catching his breath. Then he sees Lafayette, and just like that, he's breathless again.

"Hercules!" Lafayette calls from the table, waving. Hercules smiles, sitting down at the table.

"So, what do you need my help with? I mean, not that you need my help to call me, but you did say you needed my help." Lafayette grins.

"John has been moping around our apartment ever since the ball because him and your Alex have been tweeting each other practically constantly ever since the first day when John roasted Jefferson, but Alex never dm's him. He thinks that that means that Alex doesn't like him. I don't want to get his hopes up, so I'm here to ask you."

"Oh I can assure you, Alex likes him. He's been writing very obvious poems about John whenever he has the time," Hercules responds.

"Really? _Oh mon putain de deiu qui est incroyable._ Are you sure they're about John, though?"

"I don't think Alex has ever met anyone else with 'freckles so consistent on his face that ancient philosophers could use it as a star map if fate had been so generous as to coincide their lifetimes'" Hercules remembers the line easily. It's one of the many he has read over Alex's shoulder when Alex falls asleep at his keyboard. Lafayette's mouth opens in shock, laughing.

"So, what's the plan," Lafayette asks once they calm down.  
"Plan?"

"You know, the plan to get John and Alex together."

"Oh!"

They spend all day in that stupid fucking coffee shop, making a far too elaborate plan to set up their two roomates. Lafayette is very obviously the ringleader of the operation, Hercules being more of an accomplice in the whole ordeal. Lafayette typed the whole thing out on their phone, sending it to Hercules who copy and pastes it to his notes. After they run over the plan a few more times, Lafayette leaves, saying that phase one starts tomorrow. Hercules is so fucked.

Herc hears Alex before he sees him. More specifically, he hears Spooky Scary Skeletons blaring through their shared phone dock and then Alex's body crashing on the wood floor of the living room as Hercules puts the key in the lock. He rushes as fast as he can to open the door, and when his does, Alex is there, laying on the floor, writhing around in pain. Hercules bursts out laughing, leaning on the small table they use to put their key dish. Alex tries to get up, slipping on his socks, and falls again. Hercules' laugh turns into a literal cackle as he falls to his knees. He closes the door, not knowing what he'd do if anyone looked in and saw them.

"Hercules, that's so rude! Help me!" Alex cries, reaching out for Hercules, who is still on the floor with him.

"Right, sorry," He says, still laughing. He stands up, dragging Alex up from off of the ground.

It's then that Hercules sees the Halloween decorations for the first time. There's fake spider webs strung between almost every available surface, which Hercules knows he's going to have to help clean up on November first when Alex brought their Christmas tree up from storage.

"So how was your date with Lafayette?" Alex asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

Hercules' face heats up. "It wasn't a date."

"You went for coffee with them, alone. You were there for hours, Herc. It was pretty much a date."

"We go for food all the time together," Hercules points out.

"Yes, but as far as I'm concerned, you don't want to date me."

"They want to meet you," he says suddenly. He says it partly to do his share of phase one of the plan, partly to get out of this conversation.

"I, me? Why?" Alex asks.

"I told them that story of how you once started arguing with that guy in French and he got so freaked out by how angry you sounded that he ran away. They said that any person who can speak fluent French in this economy is a person they'd like to meet."

"The economy is a mess."

"Besides the point, Alex. We're going to the Brew Ha Ha tomorrow."

"Was the coffee there that great that you're going two days in a row?"

"Actually, I have no idea how good their coffee is. Me and Laf were too busy talking to even order anything."

"That's such a date thing!"

" _Shut up!_ "

* * *

 

Lafayette walks in the door to their apartment, going straight into John's room.

"How was your not-date?. John asks, closing his laptop. Lafayette groaned.

"He's so pretty, John. _Jesus baise_ I've never met anyone so beautiful. He's really nice, too. He lets me talk for so long and he just listens. He listens and then finds something amazing to say back and I just don't know what to do. He wants to meet you, by the way."

"Why?"

"We were talking about Peggy's ball, and that escalated to him wanting to meet you. We're going to the Brew Ha Ha again tomorrow, and you're going. Sorry _mon cher,_ you don't have a choice."

"Alright."

"So, let's see whatever tweets Alexander has sent you that you're obviously freaking out about," Lafayette says. John closes his eyes and sighs. He opens his laptop.

 ** _@aham_** : _@jmads as far as I'm concerned @jhnlrns and I are the only ones on this website with any common sense so fuC K O F F_

Lafayette scoffed. "You embarrass me," they say, crawling off of John's bed and leaving to go get in their own.

The next day when Hercules wakes up, he can hear Alex talking to himself through the walls. He gets up, walking over to the bathroom and knocking on the door.  
"Hercules, I'm going to die." Alex has a brush in his hand, and a broken hair tie in the other. There are two more broken hair ties in the sink, which Hercules has to pick up and throw away before they get caught in the drain.

"Why now?"

"You said that when you met Lafayette, their beauty radiated off of them. I don't think I'm ready for that."

"You'll be fine. Besides, we have like three hours before we have to leave to meet them," Hercules speaks calmly.

Alex looks confused. "What? Hercules what time are we meeting them?"

"Eleven."

"Okay. Are you aware that it currently 10:35?" Hercules' eyes widen, he pushes Alex out of the small mirror in their bathroom, fighting for the vanity space.

They show up late, and Hercules hates himself for it. But it's all worth it when Hercules watches the breath catch in Alex's lungs when he sees John sitting next to Lafayette at the table. They both make eye contact. John breaks it by looking over to Laf, who is laughing discreetly until John starts talking. They spit on the table accidentally, their whole body shaking as John talks very quickly about something neither of them can understand through the window.

"Hercules."

"I didn't know he would be here," Hercules lies. He clears his throat to muffle his laughing, and pushes Alex into the shop.

"Alex!" Lafayette all but yells. Alex looks stunned for a moment before shaking their hand.

"You are very beautiful," Alex blurts out. He turns red as soon at the words leave his mouth. Lafayette gasps, John sighs, and Hercules laughs like this is the best thing he has ever seen in his life.

"Merci," Lafayette says, shaking Alex's hand. They let go of Alex, gesturing to John. "Hercules, this is John." Hercules shakes John's hand.

Alexander's eyes light up. "John Laurens, the twitter activist who destroyed tjeffs with one tweet constructed so beautifully that I cried."

"It's nice to have that impact," John replies, and just like that, it starts. They hope from topic to topic, both passionately going off about whatever is the focus of the conversation at the time.

Lafayette and Hercules contribute to the conversation minimally until they're barely talking at all. They wait until the line gets long, and as soon as it's about halfway into the shop, they start phase one, part two.

"Hey Laf, do you want to go order food, since we didn't yesterday?"

"Of course, Hercules."

Alex and John both look at them, eyes pleading for them not to leave them with each other in fear of making it awkward. The pair don't listen though, leaving their friends at the table alone. Then their phones go off simultaneously.

_**@tjeffs** : I don't understand how people who support #blacklivesmatter don't support #alllivesmatter like tf? Everyone is equal_

"Holy shit," John whispers.

"No. NO. He's black! What the fuck?" Alex is almost screaming in this small cafe.

And that's how John and Alex get into a very loud discussion about #blacklivesmatter in the middle of a coffee shop at eleven thirty in the morning while at least twenty people watch them. Alex has smacked the table to emphasise his point so many times by now that it's surprising there isn't a permanent dent in it.

"I think it's time you both calmed down," Hercules tells them, bringing the cardboard cup holder tray to their table and setting it down.

"Probably shoudn't have gotten coffee then," John says. He takes the cup with his name written on it. Hercules sighs in defeat.

Alex looks at the cup Hercules takes before he takes his own, just catching the writing that he covers with his hand.

"Hercules is that-"

"No."

"The barista's number-"

"No."

"Written on your cup?"

Lafayette and John glance at each other, taking long drinks from their cups at the same time.

"Are you gonna go for it?" Alex asks, nudging his side with his elbow.

Nobody misses the way Hercules looks Lafayette in the eyes as he says no.

They end up going back to Alex and Hercules' apartment after that. Lafayette and Hercules are laying on opposite sides of the larger couch, due to them being taller while John and Alex curl up on either side of the love seat they have against the other wall. They're watching House Hunters. They find what's wrong with their choice twenty minutes into the first episode they watch.

"House two! House two!" Alex and John chant as soon as it cuts to a commercial.

"Are you kidding? House three for sure! The color scheme is way better and it has more of the stuff they wanted on their list," Hercules argues.

"Okay, but house three is over budget and the commute is way longer than the wife wanted. House two has the same things except the pool and finished basement, it's two thousand dollars under budget, and the commute is only twenty five minutes. Lafayette what do you think?"  
  
"Personally, I like house one."

"Oh my god!" John yells. All four of them get into argument until the commercials end and the show comes back on.

The almost violent scolding the TV gets from John, Alex, and Lafayette when the couple picked house three is amazing bordering on the point of biblical. Alex wrestles the remote from Hercules and turns the TV off.

"Fuck you House Hunters!" Alex says triumphantly. "I think I'm going to go to bed after that," He announces. The rest agree with him.

"Who's sleeping where?" Lafayette asks.

"You can sleep in my bed," Hercules tells them. Lafayette nods and starts down the hall, Hercules following them, leaving John and Alex alone.

"So, I guess you're with me in my bed."

"I guess so."

Alex skips off to his bedroom, John following. Lafayette and Hercules are watching through the slightly open door.

Phase one complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao happy march


	4. Chapter 4

John is so fucked. He wakes up that morning with Alexander pressed against him. He's so cold even under the blankets and John just wants to wrap himself around him until he isn't anymore. He shamelessly breathes in one more time, inhaling the smell of Alex's shampoo, before realizing what he's doing. He blushes and looks away.

Lafayette peeks in the door. " _Mon cher_?" They whisper. John can see Hercules standing behind them in the door.  
  
"I'm awake," He responds.

"Is Alex?" Hercules asks, too loudly for this early in the morning.   
  
"I am now, Mulligan," Alex mumbles. He rolls over in his bed, pulling the covers around himself and off of John. John sighs climbs out of the bed and follows the other two into the kitchen. Hercules puts a saucepan filled with water on the stove to boil and gets the half empty container of instant coffee, setting it next to the stove.

"Sleep well?" John asks. He leans against the counter next to the fridge, crossing his arms. Lafayette snorts.

" _No_. His bed is hard as hell, it felt like I was sleeping on rocks."

"Well next time, I'll put the feather bed have stuffed in my closet on the mattress. Like I said, all you ever have to do is ask me, and the world is yours." Lafayette stands still for a few moments, paralyzed. Hercules gets milk out of the fridge as if he hasn't just committed a figurative murder in his own kitchen, and John feels like he's watching something he was never meant to see.

Alex enters the kitchen then, bundled up in blankets, muttering to himself about the utter disrespect of some people. The new distraction catches Lafayette's attention.

"Good morning, _petit lion_."

" _Bonjour, ma belle amie_ ," Alex responds.

" _Regarder vous-meme, ou mon colocataire pourrait penser que vous etes apres moi au lieu de lui,"_ Lafayette warns.Alex blushes, but doesn't say anything back. He goes to lay down on the couch, watching them over the back of it. John and him glance at each other. Alex winks at him before looking over at Lafayette and sinking down behind the couch.

"What did you say?" John asks Lafayette.

"Nothing."

"Lafayette."

"No."

" _Lafayette!_ "

" _No!_ "

" _Gilbert!_ " Lafayette gasps. Hercules and Alex look at each other, confused.

" _John!_ We have been over this!"  
  
"Right, right. The only person allowed to call you Gilbert is the person who you allow to marry you. I apologize.

"Specifically in the proposal and not once after, but that was close enough. Apology accepted."

"That's certainly something. So is it all of your names when they propose or just Gilbert?" Hercules asks.  
  
"All of them. It's how I know that they care."

"I guess I better learn all of your names quickly, then," Hercules says quietly. Lafayette is speechless.

Hercules grabs four mugs from another cabinet, pouring the now boiling water in them. He dumps in the coffee and stirs them. Alex grabs his as soon as the coffee blends, retreating back to the couch. He turns both the TV and his laptop on, opening Microsoft Word. He types a sentence, and then deletes it right away. They all watch as he deletes the first line four times before deciding on one he likes and building on it, completely neglecting his coffee.

"Is he always like this?" John asks, pouring milk in his coffee.  
  
"Yeah, pretty much. He's great though, don't let this ruin your interpretation on him."

John and Lafayette leave when they finish their coffees. John gives both Hercules and John his phone number, bidding them goodbye. Hercules wants to point out that most of the clothes they're wearing when they leave are not theirs, but doesn't have it in him to say anything. When they're gone, Alex laughs to himself.

"What?"

"Lafayette is in love with you."

Hercules drops his coffee and breaks the mug.

* * *

 

The wind is fierce in the New York City streets, whipping their hair around their faces. John feels slightly embarrassed, feeling like he's taking the walk of shame home from a one night stand.

" _Mon cher_ , I'm convinced that you and Alex would be dating already if you would just have more than one lengthy conversation at a time."  
  
"I have met him one time outside of the ball, so I honestly doubt it. Anyway, to swing the focus away from me, you and Hercules are pretty disgusting, which is a good sign." Lafayette laughs, leaning into John.

"I don't even think he knows how much he kills me, you know?"

"What if he does and he's just really really smooth."

"Smooth suggests he wants to get into bed with me."

"He might."

"I would let him."

"I am done with this conversation."

John's phone goes off. It's a text from Alex. Upon opening it, he realizes that the message is from Alex and that the message is also long as hell.

_**john** : what is this_

_**alex** : sorry wrong thing_

_**john** : is this??? the entire Declaration of Independence????_

_**alex** : yes, but like I said, it's the wrong thing_

_**john** : what's the right thing??_

_**john** : why did you have this copied to begin with??_

_**alex** : a thing I need someone to proofread for me because Hercules won't do it because it's only eleven in the morning_

_**alex** : and don't worry about it_

_**john** : send it now and I'll read it when I get home_

_**alex** : my dear laurens you are my savior_

When they finally get home, Lafayette runs to their bed, flopping onto the comforter. They yell at how they'd rather die in this bed than sleep in Hercules' for one more night.

"If you had the chance to have the best romantic relationship with Hercules ever, but you had to sleep on Hercules' bed for the rest of your life, would you?" John asks through the doorway, going to read Alex's message.

"Yes, because I would ask him to put the feather bed thing he talked about on it, and he'd agree because he said he would. Problem solved." John shakes his head, smiling, and leaves to go to his own room. John doesn't find any errors in Alex's article, and tells him that. Alex thanks him, telling him that he's sorry that he had to read it only to find nothing. John responds saying that's it's not problem and that he'd love to read anything else Alex has written  

From then on, John get an email from Alex at least once a week, including whatever he had written that he wants him to read. Sometimes Hercules will have already proofread it, sometimes not. Either way, they're still interesting.

It's December when it finally happens. Phase two of the plan includes Hercules and Lafayette hiding Hercules' own computer in a drawer that Alex doesn't go in, then asking to use Alex' computer for a quick moment because Hercules can't find his. Hercules finds the gay rights article that Alex intends to send John later almost immediately. He leaves the first few paragraphs the same, but then deletes the ones that he's sure Alex won't reread before sending. Copying one of the many poems about John that Alex also has saved, he pastes it under the paragraphs. He saves it and closes the document.

"Shouldn't you have saved another copy of it with the actual article?" Lafayette asks.

"Alex has three of every document saved to his laptop and then a printed copy in a huge book he keeps in his room. I would have if I didn't know." He assures them. They nod back.

They leave the room, going down to Hercules' studio. They are both debating on color pallets for a gathering that Lafayette has been invited to. They've asked Hercules to be their date for the event, literally jumping when Hercules agreed.

"Who's hosting this event anyway?" Hercules asks, inspecting a cerulean blue color. It's been hours since Lafayette brought over at least sixty of their favorite colors in the form of paint swatches, telling Hercules that this is how they decide most of their outfits.

"George Washington," Lafayette says casually, taking the small piece of cardstock from his hands and throwing it into the favorites pile.

"Who?"

"He helped me when I first came to America from France. He's kind of like my father," Lafayette explains. They pick up the cerulean blue card again. "This is perfect."

"I think I'm going to go with _Sunkissed Peach_. It's close enough to be almost complimentary to that blue," Hercules says, comparing the two.

"Perfect." They stare at each other, only to be interrupted.

Alex steps in the studio. "Are you guys done using my laptop, I have to send an article to John." Hercules almost gives them away, laughter spilling out almost before he can stop it.  
  
"We're done. Good luck, _petit lion_ ," Lafayette chokes out, laughter getting to them now too. Alex looks confused, but nods at them anyway before leaving.

"I can't believe this is actually happening!"

"Do you think he'll be mad,"

"Not if John reacts the way he has to in order for this to work."

Alex emails the paragraphs to John, proud of his heavily detailed article about gay rights and that while gay people have more rights than before, they still are not being treated equally. It takes twenty minutes before he gets a text back.

_**john** : alex_

_**john** : are you sure that that's the right article_

_**alex** : pretty sure why_

_**john** : read the email you sent me, alexander _

Alex screams. Lafayette and Hercules come running out of the studio  

"'What's wrong?" Hercules yells back.

"WHAT'S WRONG IS THAT YOU TWO CHANGED MY GAY RIGHTS ARTICLE INTO A LOVE CONFESSION FOR JOHN AND JOHN READ IT."'

"How did he respond?" Hercules asks, calmly. Alexander is thrown off of his anger, focusing on his question. Lafayette looks at Hercules, thrown off by the question as well.

"He asked me about it and I'm too scared to say anything back. What if he hates me?" Alex whispers.

Lafayette walks over to Alex, holding either sides of his face in their hands. He kisses his hair. " _Petit lion_ , John could never hate you. Text him back, and tell me how it goes." Alex takes a deep breath and nods, grabbing his phone from the other side of the couch.

_**alex** : well it's the wrong thing but it's certainly not a wrong thing_

_**john** : so all of those things you said about how you felt_

__**alex** : are all embarrassingly true yes  
  
**john** : even the part where you want me to 'press your lips to mine until your final breath exhales itself from your body'?

_**alex** : is would be the most favorable way to die_

_**john** : I'll be there twenty_

Now, when Alex screams this time, the elation is evident.

"I'm taking it went well," Hercules inquires.

"He's coming over. I'm going to be kissed until I _die_ , Hercules. Say nice things at my funeral." Hercules assures him he will, laughing.

The knock on the door does not come soon enough. Hercules and Lafayette watch from the studio as Alex rushes to the door, quickly opening it. John Laurens, in all of his magnificent beauty, is standing there. His cheeks and nose have turned red from the cold and he is shivering. Alex hugs him. He hugs him so tightly, breathing in the smell of fresh air that clings to him like the snow in his hair. John hugs back, pulling away and taking off his scarf, boots, and jacket. They look at each other for a long time before John takes Alex's neck and pulls him forward, kissing him. Lafayette and Hercules are screaming silently from the door. Alex drags John to his room, slamming the door behind them.

"His room is connected to half of this studio, yes?"

"Yeah, we should probably continue these sketches in my room."

Phase Two complete. Mission successful. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> really sorry if this is bad I really wanted to get this up today but I fell asleep so now I'm waking up to post it because I'm gross lmao


	5. Chapter 5

Hercules is awake. It is three in the morning and he is awake. He tries to blame it on the feather bed and how it's too soft for him to lie comfortably on, but he knows that isn't true. He honestly should be fine, Lafayette has slept in his bed before, but this time it's different. Alex and John are together now and Hercules can't help but be reminded of how he so deperately wants the same thing with Lafayette. Lafayette sighs in their sleep, nuzzling into the pillow. Hercules gets up.

Alex and John are already in the kitchen when Hercules stumbles in. John is smiling at Alex, who is giggling silently and kicking the cabinets almost violently. They both look up at Hercules, and then to each other, and suddenly Hercules feels like he was being talked about.

"Oh Hercules, my Hercules," Alex sighs. Hercules is not ready to deal with whatever this about to be.

"Do I want to know, Alex?"  
  
"Lafayette is in love with you and you let them suffer in silence."

"We have had this discussion before."

"No, we didn't. I said it and you dropped a mug, broke it, and chipped the tile. After you cleaned it up, you said you had to go wash your hands of the spilled coffee, and locked yourself in your room for the rest of the day."

"I just don't think that someone that amazing is willing to date a fashion designer with no social life."

"You basically just described their dream guy," John says.

"What if I'm not good enough for them?" Hercules asks quietly.

"Hercules Mulligan, my incredibly beautiful and incredibly stupid friend, you are probably one of the best people I have ever met and will ever meet in my life. If Lafayette doesn't see that then I will be more than willing to tell them." Alex argues before hugging him.

"Oh, trust me, Lafayette sees it. They once went into a three minute long rant about how great you were and how it wasn't fair that you were allowed to be amazing but they weren't allowed kiss you," John assures. Alex wiggles his eyebrows.

"I'll tell them soon," Hercules promises.

"Good, because you're making their dress for George Washington's Christmas party and you and I both know that you're too devoted to your job the ignore measuring someone's inseam just so your crush doesn't get revealed."

"Fuck."

* * *

Three days later, Lafayette is back in his apartment with John and Alex. John and Alex are supposed to be on a date, but Lafayette had called them in on emergency.

" _Belle amie_ , you look fine," Alex tries to tell them, but they won't listen. They're wiping their forehead with baby wipes trying to wipe away any sweat before it even gets the chance to fall. They're staring at themself in the huge vanity mirror in their bedroom.

"I can't look just fine, I have to look perfect."

John grabs them by the shoulders. "Lafayette. You look gorgeous. Drop dead, could kill with one look, beauty pageant winning level, gorgeous. Miss America level gorgeous, Laf. Hercules won't care either way, he's still going to look at you the same way."

"And that way is with astonishing love and adoration," Alex adds and John nods in agreement. Lafayette rolls their eyes, but takes a deep breath and tries to calm down anyway.

"Okay, I must go now."

"Good luck!" Alex and John reply at the same time. As soon as they hear the door slam shut, they sigh. John collapses on Lafayette's bed, Alex quickly joining him.

"Does this always happen before they come over?" Alex asks.  
  
"Yeah, pretty much."

"At least they're worth it." John nods. Then Alex kisses him, and suddenly he forgets about everything else.

* * *

Lafayette stands still as Hercules wraps the measuring tape around their waist. They're pulled backwards by the tape until they're leaning against Hercules' chest and Lafayette's body goes stiff. Hercules doesn't move his hands from where they're holding the measuring tape.

" _Mon ami_ , are you okay?"

"I have something to tell you," he whispers.

"What is it?"

"I don't think I could not tell you after this." He moves around to stand in front of them. His hands are pinched tightly on the mark on the measuring tape so he doesn't forget the measurement.

"What?"

"I'm in love with you."

Lafayette's eyes widen. They move towards Hercules, but Hercules steps away, looking at the measurement and writing it down. He grabs the tape again and goes to measure their hips, but Lafayette steps back.

"Do you mean that?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't."

Lafayette strides over to Hercules, taking the measuring tape from Hercules' hands and setting it on the table. They stare at him for a long time before kissing him.

Lafayette kissses very softly, as if they are afraid to lose something when they open their eyes. Hercules takes it in slowly, processing every moment one by one. His hands rest on their waist, pulling them closer. They wrap their arms around his neck. Hercules pulls away from them.

"I should probably get this dress made," Hercules whispers, letting go of Lafayette completely.

"The dress can wait," Lafayette says, grabbing Hercules' hand and pulling him backwards to them. Hercules rests his forehead on theirs.

"But your Christmas party is in two weeks and you still don't have a dress."

"I can buy a dress, Herc. I can't buy you kissing me." Hercules accepts that answer as he kisses Lafayette again. Hercules has never been more in love in his life.

They're cuddling together on the couch later, Lafayette almost half asleep, and Hercules just lovingly staring at them when Alex and John walk in.

"Oh my god," Alex shouts.

"YES!" John screams even louder.

Lafayette jumps at the sudden noise, hand clutching their heart, panting. They look over to Alex and John, who are both dancing around in circles.  
  
" _Essayes-vous de me dormer une crise cardiague?_ " They yell.

" _Desole, mon belle amie. Nous ne pouvions pas nous aider apres vous vcir et Hercules icl regardant si mignons ensemble sur le canape._ "

" _Comprehensible._ "

"This is rude," John says, referring to the very fluent French that he cannot speak. Hercules agrees.

"Don't hate us cause you ain't us," is how Alex responds, high fiving Lafayette. John and Hercules both roll their eyes, but laugh anyways.

"You're lucky you're cute," Hercules tells both of them. Lafayette nods.

"Sorry to disappoint Hercules, but I have a boyfriend."

"My sympathies go out to him." Hercules says. Alex gasps and takes a pillow from under Lafayette's feet, throwing it at Hercules' face. Hercules catches it and the fear that crosses Alex's eyes is amazing. He ducks it and it hits the wall behind him.

"You could have killed me!"

"Oops?"

Lafayette nudges Hercules' side, shoulders shaking from laughing. John takes Alex's hand.

"We are going to bed," John announces.

"I'm not tired though," Alex protests, going along with John anyway.

"Who said we were sleeping?" John asks, turning to Alex and winking. Alex runs ahead of him, dragging John with him.

"Do you ever think we'll be that gross?" Hercules inquired, combing through Lafayette's hair with his hand.

"Probably."

"It would be worth it."

And in that moment, they were okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that was that and I might write something else about Washington's Christmas party but idk what yet lmao


End file.
